A Stanford University professor who claimed parents' opposition to mask and vaccine mandates is caused by their 'whiteness,' has been accused of racism. Hakeem Jefferson, a black political science professor at the California university, tweeted on August 17, when he claimed the protests are inspired by 'whiteness,' while applying the same logic to the January 6 Capitol riots. 'Whiteness is the most pressing threat to the nation that isn’t climate change,' one of Jefferson's tweets read.